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North Park Junior Places 7th in Long Jump Contest
WHITEWATER, WI (March 16, 2004) - North Park University (NPU) junior Lucia
Abel placed seventh in the long jump competition at the NCAA Division
III indoor track and field meet at the University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater a week ago.
Abel leaped 17 feet, 8 and three-quarters inches to earn All-America
honors. Darcell Edwards of McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, leaped
18 feet, 7 and one-quarter inches to win the event.
Abel competed in the triple jump competition, leaping 36-11, but failed
to make
the top nine overall. Laura Verdegan of the University of
Wisconsin-Stout leaped 39-7 for first place.
A native of Angola, Africa, Abel and her Christian family fled to
Namibia in the early 1990s and lived in a refugee camp. The family
translated for refugees in the camp and while doing so Abel met a mother
and daughter from Winnetka, Illinois. That family eventually agreed to
sponsor Abel and pay for schooling so she could attend college.
An International Business major at NPU, Abel won the long jump and
triple jump at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin indoor
meet two weeks before nationals.
More about Abel's track and field exploits and her journey to the United
States can be found on the university website at www.northpark.edu under
the athletics and women's track and field links.
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